Feed Me To Stones
by JAlva
Summary: During their first job after Miranda, Mal has everything taken away from him- literally. Jayne is there to help him out, but Mal isn't too sure how good of a thing that is yet. Series, Post BDM, Slash.
1. Chapter 1

**Feed Me To Stones**

By Jeremy

Pairings: Mal/Jayne

Rating: PG-13 at best

Summary: Mal has just lost everything- literally- and Jayne is the only one by his side. But he's not too sure how good of a thing that is yet. Post BDM, slightly AU, slash.

Words: 2042

_A/N: This was written for the Slash-A-Thon at the LJ community FireflySlash. The first several chapters are suitable for but there's at least one chapter (and more planned) that fall directly into smutty territory which I'll have to trim for this site. I'll add a link to a place where you can find the smut in appropriate chapters. Also, thanks to ThunderNari on LJ for the beta and notes._

_http://community. 1_

If there were any other word for it other than 'perverse' then that's what Mal would have called it. That's if he had any ability to speak at all at the moment. Instead he was holed up in this dark freezing cave on a dusty rock, his jaw practically cracked in two, or so it felt, and an angry gunman, who just saw his pay ride away on horseback for the umpteenth time, as his only company.

He had taken Zoë aside a week ago while en route to Jiangyin. She had been mourning the death of her husband since the events on Miranda, not more then a scant two months prior. And yet despite her pain she, ever the warrior and soldier, insisted on working. Mal couldn't allow that though. "You're not leaving this ship." He looked her firm in the eye as she sat cleaning her gun in the cockpit. "It's just a simple drop off; we go in with fire in our eyes after what everybody's heard about us and we'll never find work again. We need to make a good impression, show we can do simple jobs under the radar." He kept steady eye contact with Zoë, trying to show sympathy. "Dong ma?"

Zoë stood sharply and clicked the gun together. "Yes, sir." She left the gun on the pilots chair as she left the cockpit.

After everything they did for the gorram 'verse, all the troubles they went through to show everybody just what the Alliance was truly capable of, you'd imagine they'd be hailed as big damned heroes. But, judging by the welcome they got from Barley and his men, that just weren't the case.

According to Barley they were nothing but "Traitorous érzi de jìnǚ." With a kick to Mal's face and a barked command to his lackeys, they confiscated his cargo, his ship, and his crew. Mal watched, guns trained on his chest, as Barley's men boarded the ship. He could hear the scuffle onboard, the sounds of gun shots rang out but were quickly brought to a halt. Smoke began to billow out the back of the ship.

"Knock out gas," Barley snickered. "Won't do 'em harm, so long as they stay down."

In what could be considered an ungentlemanly move, he ordered Mal to dis-arm and march out into the mountains, hands held over his head, until Barley couldn't see him anymore. Angry and delirious with the pain throbbing away in his jaw it took Mal damned near an hour before he realized Barley had sent one of his men to follow him fifty paces behind on horseback.

What had made Mal aware of the man following him was the commotion Jayne stirred with a sneak attack. Mal watched as Jayne, having jumped down on the man from atop a boulder, pull out a buck knife and effortlessly slide it across his face from cheek to cheek in a big Cheshire grin. Leaving the corpse on horseback, Jayne turned it around and sent it back the way it came from with a smack on its rear. Blood freckled the sandstone hills as the animal galloped away.

Mal couldn't stop himself from gawking. Jayne glistened with sweat and filth, his shoulders heaving with every gasping breath. For one moment, Mal could see every folk hero he'd heard tale of standing before him.

Jayne turned his eyes on Mal, wild yet focused— it sent a shiver through Mal. His hands coated with sticky red death, Jayne grabbed him by his arm and guided him further into the hills. "Let's go."

So here they were, cold darkness having long since slipped across the mountains they now hid in. It was impossible to see as no light, natural or unnatural, peaked in from the entry of the cave. And from the sounds of it Jayne sat not too far away, heels digging into the dirt and the occasional animal-like snort.

All things considered, Mal was certainly appreciative of the company, even if it was awful silent. Not as if he could keep up his end of conversation in the state he was in. But just knowing that Jayne had tracked him, saved him really, was something to keep his mind occupied.

But, as much as he appreciated Jayne's sudden show of loyalty, Mal couldn't help but wonder what the other man was expecting in return. Sure couldn't be money, seeing as how they haven't had enough paying jobs since everybody they ever knew went belly-up on them recently. Beyond that, Mal didn't rightly know what Jayne was interested in, least not when it came to where their paths crossed. Man was somewhat of an enigma to him, even after all these years.

"So," Jayne's low and raspy voice came from the darkness, almost surprising Mal. Almost. "What do we do now, Captain Wow?"

Mal shifted awkwardly. He knew if he tried to respond with actual words it'd do him more harm than good, but he wasn't exactly sure how aware Jayne was of his felled jaw. So he made the only sound he could muster, "Nng."

There was a silent pause before a confused Jayne responded. "What?"

"Nn nng ng nmm-nin."

A longer pause, followed by a more exasperated "_What?_"

Already annoyed by his futility at the moment, Mal tried to think quickly on how to tell Jayne he couldn't very well talk. It was too dark to try and write it into the dirt, and he was pretty sure the man wasn't schooled in sound codes like they trained you with in the war. There had to be something that was easy to understand without having to see.

Then he had an idea. He scooted himself toward Jayne, using his ears to guide him, and propped himself against the cave wall being wary of his slack jaw, feeling the dull ache turn into a cool burn.

Jayne, sensing the intrusion on his space, shifted a little but didn't move away. Trying to figure the best way how to do the next step Mal opted for the more direct approach and grabbed Jayne by the wrist, resting the other man's hand palm up in his own left hand.

"What're you doing?" Jayne demanded, somewhere between shocked and irritated. He tried to pull his hand away but Mal held him firm.

Mal growled. "Nng." His tone was authoritative. Jayne didn't argue anymore but the tenseness in his hand gave away his discomfort with their proximity to each other.

But as Mal began to glide his finger up Jayne's palm the discomfort got to be too much and he ripped his hand away. "Shì shénme zài dìyù?" Jayne yelled.

Mal snarled as he grabbed Jayne's hand again more firmly and held it tight, palm up again. This time he went quicker, practically digging his nail into his palm to show Jayne he meant business.

He dragged his finger first in an up, down slant, up slant, down motion. Then a V motion on the top of his palm followed by a line down the rest of the way. "Ng." He paused, just long enough to show he was switching words, then did a curved swoop, an upside down V with a line through it, and a down up-slant down-slant up motion. "Nng." Pause, then a straight line down followed by a curvey one starting at the top-right, and swooping a few times to the bottom left. "Ng." Pause, then he rapidly did another series of the motions punctuated by an "Nmm-nin."

He could sense Jayne calculating what just transpired in his head for a moment before Mal felt him practically jump. "Your jaw is broken?" He exclaimed, concern in his voice. Mal clapped Jayne's hand by way of affirmation. "Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" And again Jayne was irritated.

Jayne pulled his hand back, this time more gingerly, and began to rustle about his person, pulling something off somewhere. "Here," He said as he felt for Mal's shoulder, then slowly brought his body around, trying to find a position in front of Mal. Jayne moved his hand from the shoulder and up Mal's neck to his face; Mal couldn't control the shiver Jayne's calloused fingers stirred in him. He could feel Jayne's breath coating him in warmth.

Delicately, Jayne felt along Mal's jaw line trying to gauge the severity of the problem. "Okay," he said. "I'm no doctor but I've seen this kind of thing a few times. I mean, can't see nothing now but from the feel of it I think you ought to be okay if I sling your jaw tonight and we try to find a doctor tomorrow morning."

Mal did his best to nod, but Jayne held his head steady. "This might sting for a second." He pulled the cloth thing under Mal's chin, brought it up over his head and tied it so that it was neither too tight nor too loose.

"How's that feel?"

It hurt, honestly. But Mal wasn't the kind to complain. So instead he reached up and gave Jayne's shoulder an appreciative squeeze. It was then, at the touch of bare skin under palm, that he realized what the cloth around his head was. In a wave of clarity he realized the closeness of their two bodies, Jayne hovering over his crotch with no shirt on in the dark. If he wanted to Mal could lick him. Granted that his jaw were in working order. Also granting Jayne wouldn't put it right back in non-working order if he tried such a thing.

"Is it too tight?" Jayne asked, pulling Mal right out of that thought. He suddenly realized that he had been squeezing Jayne's shoulder for just a touch too long.

He made a 'no' sound and patted Jayne's shoulder. Last thing Mal wanted was for Jayne to find reason to leave him stranded. He needed the man here right now. He needed the extra strength. And Mal would be damned if he could go this long without giving away his feelings only to screw it up at the worst possible time.

"Well alright," Jayne interrupted his thought process again, much to Mal's relief. "We should probably get some shut eye so we can go rescue everybody tomorrow and get the doc to take a look at you." Mal could tell by Jayne's tone that he meant in that order, and the doctor he was referring to was Simon. It was a scary prospect, but he was pretty sure no other doctor in town would help the man exiled by their sheriff and mayor.

And that was when Mal suddenly felt a wave of worry come crashing over him. Simon and River. That boy and his kin might have got themselves famous, but the Alliance was still after them. He began to fret about that son of a bitch Barley turning them over to the proper authorities. Barley may have been a beacon of hope for his townspeople, but he wasn't opposed to making coin off of other people's misery. Especially the kind of coin River and Simon might bring in.

Jayne sighed, and whispered, "What're you sighing about over there so much? It sounds all weird." From the way he was talking- mostly to himself- it was apparent he thought Mal had fallen asleep. So taking that to his advantage Mal closed his eyes, willing himself into slumber.

Now, he wasn't sure exactly how he wound up on Miranda, but it wasn't the way he remembered. It seemed that the Alliance had gone back and fixed everything; everybody was cheerful and going about their daily lives. That was the important thing, the people were alive.

"Help a veteran out?" He heard a voice ask. He looked around the glaringly bright surroundings trying to find the source of it. "Spare any coin?" Every face he looked at glared back at him in disgust.

"Would you help a veteran, sir?" The voice asked again. A tall man in a pinstriped suit passed him, his dark hair greased back and his beard cropped close. The man snarled at him.

"Get a real job, Browncoat."

The voice asked again. "Please, sir?" Suddenly he recognized the voice. It was his own. Angered by this epiphany Mal decided to stalk the man in the pinstriped suit. "Help a man out?" He asked again, angrily.

The man turned away from him. "Leave me alone." It began to rain.

"Help a veteran out?" Mal growled, suddenly finding himself on his stomach and crawling after the other man. He was furious, and it was his rage that pulled him along.

The other man quickened his pace to a near run. The sounds of his steps through the rain drowned out anything he might have said.

Mal felt his fingers break as he dragged himself along, losing the distance between himself and the other man. The ground beneath him began to turn to mud and he felt himself sinking deep and hard. "HELP ME!" He screamed, feeling his jaw burn and ache as the mud pushed on him.

He felt a strong calloused hand grab him just before he sank completely and was pulled out of the mud with a sickening sucking sound. The ground beneath him had disappeared and the man in the pinstriped suit was now staring him dead in the face.

It was Jayne.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Mal opened his eyes, the dreary sluggishness that comes with waking up forcing his head down. He was on his side and he could feel something warm pressing into his back. He cautiously shifted his body so he could see what it was; There Jayne lay, curled up with his back pressed up against Mal.

In his groggy state Mal almost decided it'd be better to go back to sleep, comforted by their bodies closeness. But the memories of his dream kept his eyes from shutting. Seeing that light was starting to ease its way across the hills outside he decided now was the time to get onto their task for the day.

Mal pulled himself into a sitting position and gently prodded the half-naked Jayne beside him. When that didn't work Mal shoved him hard. With a loud snore Jayne opened his eyes. "Who's that?"

Mal snorted a laugh and shook his head, regretting it as he did, as the pain was just a bit too, well, painful. To Mal's annoyance Jayne closed his eyes again and rolled onto his back asleep. To his greater surprise there was a very noticeable protrusion in Jayne's pants.

There Jayne lay, no shirt and covered in dirt, his morning glory up for all the 'verse to see. Mal rolled his eyes knowing Jayne wouldn't find anything embarrassing about his present position.

Opting to not ogle the sleeping man, Mal stood up and gave him a light kick in the arm, just enough to stir him. What he hadn't counted on was Jayne's lightning reflexes to kick in just then and grab him by the ankle. Jayne looked up at him through slitted eyes. "What?"

Mal, doing his best to balance on one foot while the other was held captive, motioned to the entrance of the cave. Jayne glanced out then back at Mal, his eyebrows furrowed in confused irritation. "So?"

Mal groaned and plopped down. Grabbing onto Jayne's hand he began to trace along his palm again. Jayne watched on as the symbols were quickly etched into his skin. "Ng. Umng. Gnuh."

"We should go?" Jayne asked after taking a moment to piece it together. Mal nodded, then remembering that such things hurt opted instead clapped his hand against Jayne's.

Jayne mulled this over in his head for a moment before nodding. "Let's go."

It always sort of scared Mal how good Jayne was. Now more than any time before he looked like a wild animal; filthy and half-naked climbing up the hillsides to try and spot signs of civilization. Jayne kept his head low and his eyes would dart around. Mal did his best not to watch, as it tended to break his sense of ease. And yet something about it seemed comforting, knowing that Jayne was on his side.

When they reached the outskirts of town the streets were already bustling with activity. Mal had to grab hold of Jayne before the man went charging right into the thick of it. He pulled him behind a building and grabbed his hand again, making muted sounds as he spelled into Jayne's hand.

The bigger man looked up from his hand, confused. "Why would I call attention to us?"

Mal cocked his head to the side and glanced down at Jayne's bare chest, then slapped the back of his hand to it with a grunt.

Jayne groaned and rolled his eyes. "Not like these people never seen a man with no shirt before."

Mal growled and in one swift motion pulled the shirt off of his head, doing his best not to wince at the sudden tug of gravity, and handed it to Jayne. As the shirt was being pulled over Jayne's head, the man muttering under his breath as it went, Mal became aware of the big streak of crusty red that was covering the front of it.

Before Jayne could pull it on anymore Mal grabbed at it and yanked it off. Jayne, none too pleased by this, yelped. "Why you gotta take a mans shirt like that? You just told me to put it on!"

Mal, annoyed by Jayne's belligerence, turned the shirt around and showed him the mess he'd made the day before. Jayne gawked, still trying to figure what was wrong with the shirt.

With a snort Mal dropped the shirt onto the ground, Jayne protesting until Mal stomped on it and glared directly into his eyes, tugging open the buttons on his own shirt hoping that Jayne would get the idea. At the very least Mal had an undershirt on, and in this weather the towns folk might have less reason to look at them if he had at least that much on as opposed to being half-naked.

Pulling the shirt free from his body he handed it to Jayne who took it and wrenched it on, glaring at Mal as he did. It was a bit tight in the shoulders, but in the end it did him justice. Of course if he raised his hands over his head you'd be able to see the bottom of his belly, but it was still better than nothing.

Later though Mal would need to make sure to get it back, even if it meant pulling it off himself.

With their new garb on, and Mal's jaw still slightly swollen, they entered town wholly unrecognizable by any townsfolk who might have known them from their last visit, or from the surveillance footage of them that had been broadcast over the Cortex since the fallout of Miranda.

They made it to the small sheriffs station in the middle of the towns square without any incident; but knowing what was about to go down their exit might be a whole other story. Mal looked up, trying to gauge the place Jayne's mind was in right now. He knew the man was dependable in a fight, but this was even out of Mal's comfort zone. There was too much at stake and too many handicaps for either of their liking. But now was do or die time. Rescue their crew now or forever live with the consequences.

Mal put his hand on Jayne's shoulder by way of signal, feeling the tension that had built up there. He hoped that they'd get out of this intact so he could give Jayne a day off, help him ease off his nerves. Maybe take the day off himself even. Hell, if they got off this rock they could all use a day off.

Right after they got some money.

Jayne looked down at Mal, conveying through eye contact that he was ready. Quietly Mal raised his hand and counted down with his fingers. Three. Two.

One.

They charged around the side of the building, up the steps, and barged through the door. Mal swept the room with his eyes to find any signs of his crew or where they might be, while Jayne grabbed a guard by his neck and rammed him into the wall successfully knocking him out.

Hurried footsteps came from the hall to their left and four men, along with Barley, entered with their guns trained on the two intruders.

"Whooa!" Barley called, raising his hands to order everything to cease. His four lackey's stood with guns in aimed while Mal and Jayne stood with fists ready. Barley smiled.

"Hey there, heroes." He said, crossing his arms. "Got here just in the nick of time." He glanced over his shoulder as the crew of Serenity filed out of the hall, each looking more haggard than the other. But upon seeing their rescue party they all grew anxious.

Kaylee was outright bubbly. "Hi, Captain!" She called with a small wave.

Barley looked back at Mal, and with a light shrug said "Turns out none of you are worth anything to the Alliance, so you're free to go. Hell, your ship isn't even worth anything either so you might as well take that with you."

Well, this was turning out to be anti-climactic.

Jayne eyed Mal, waiting for his signal for their next move. But Mal, knowing a good out when he saw one, relaxed his stance. "Nugh ungh ngh nnghn?" He asked. Barley quirked an eyebrow, confused. Mal held his hands up and rubbed his fingers together.

"Our money." Jayne interpreted.

"What about it?" Barley asked, trying to sound innocent. "As far as I know you're getting away relatively unscathed after we confiscated some illegal materials we found on your ship."

Mal smirked, as best he could at least. There was a click and Barley's eyes went wide. "I'm sorry, sir." Zoë said to Mal, holding the gun that formerly belonged to one of their now-unconscious captors. "I don't mean to ruin first impressions, but I've never been one to have patience for negotiations."

"Better give the woman what she wants." Said Jayne, a tight grin on his face as Barley noticed the other three guards unceremoniously slumped on the ground beside him. "She's mite angry with the universe lately, and she's looking to balance things out a bit."

Mal was so proud of his crew.

It wasn't until they were a few hours out of atmo before Mal was able to let out a sigh of relief. Also because Simon had just relocated his jaw.

"Just be glad it wasn't truly broken." Simon warned. "This should heal itself completely in a few weeks." He shuffled through one of his drawers and pulled out a small bag filled with some pills. "Take these if the pain is too much, otherwise just do your best to keep your mouth closed and use an ice-pack--"

"Twenty minutes every hour." Mal mumbled, glad to finally be able to talk again.

"And," Simon continued. "Keep the talking to the bare minimum for the first week. Otherwise, just let me know if any problems arise."

Mal nodded and left the infirmary quicker than was polite.

As he casually made his way back toward his bunk to take a nap he let his mind wander. Barley had told them that they weren't worth anything to the Alliance, and that bit of news somehow weren't setting right with him. When pressed— with a gun no less— Barley regaled them with the story of how he sent a wave to the Alliance hotline, told them he had a special treat for them waiting in his cell.

He may have been on a boarder planet, he said, but he was loyal to the core. Didn't like the way the Serenity crew tried to sabotage them with that whole Miranda ordeal, which Barley was still adamant about being a fabrication even with a barrel to his brain. Moreover, he knew the Tam siblings were worth some heavy coin in and of themselves. That itself should have been worth it.

So he'd waited several hours for their response on what to do with his prisoners.

"Let them go," the man in uniform said coolly when the Alliance response did come. "We have no need for them anymore."

And that was about when Mal and Jayne had shown up, full of bravado and spunk. Not knowing they were worthless now.

"I don't imagine you'll be wanting to do any business with us from here forth." Barley asked after being unceremoniously ordered off the ship a good hours walk out of town.

Mal had smiled with his eyes, his jaw still sore from their last encounter. Just before the hatches were closed he shot the man through the right hand, sealing their deal in blood. He'd meant to aim for his gut, but the hand was a happy accident.

He'd signaled for Kaylee to search the ship for bugs and for River to take them skyward. At least that's what he etched into Jayne's hand, his first instinct for communication right then. Jayne had caught onto the bizarre system pretty quickly and was able to translate it soon after it was spelt out. The others looked on with humor, but did as they were told. Zoë decided now was a good nap, and Jayne figured he needed a good long shower.

That had been an hour ago now and Mal was tired. He closed the hatch on his bunk and climbed the rest of the way down the ladder. He sat on his bed, kicked his boots off, pulled off his shirt and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Half of Mal's body felt warm, uncomfortably so. The other half had goosebumps from the cold air breezing over his exposed flesh. When he opened his eyescomma he couldn't understand what was going on. He was still lying in that ruttin' cave.

Had he dreamt the day?

Mal began to roll over so he could pick himself off the floor, but felt something blocking him. He craned his neck to see what was held fast around him and discovered that the ground had risen and was now holding him fastmaybe 'tight' instead? You've already used 'fast' in this sentence.

Yet he wasn't panicked. The dirt was warm, and soft to the touch. He poked at it and felt it quiver. Curious, Mal began to gently stroke the soil and found that the soothing touch loosened it up enough aslose to allow him to turn onto his back. He lay there face up, staring at the cave's ceiling, stroking the dirt.

Hot breath blew on the side of his face. It was a comforting feeling. But he was afraid to look and see where the breath was coming from. Instead he decided to laylie there, content. Stroking the dirt.

But it wasn't dirt anymore, it was just dirty. Grit on an arm being rubbed back and forth over flesh and hair.

Mal ventured a look down and saw a familiar arm holding fast to his belly, heavy and warm. The hot breath blew on him rhythmically, audibly. It lulled him, but somehow he was afraid now. Anxiety filled him and he began to breathbreathe more rapidly, wanting nothing more than to get out of the cave. He couldn't will himself to move though. He just lay there stroking the arm.

Then the arm moved down and began to stroke him.

There was a loud knock and Mal woke with a snore. Groggily he sat up. Just as the hatch began to opencomma Mal became aware of the visible ache in the crotch of his pants and he quickly moved to readjust himself. He was afraid it werewas? Kaylee, and he didn't want the girl seeing him like that.

Fortunatelycomma the uninvited guest had the decency to call down before they descended. "Mal?" It was Jayne. Mal briskly rubbed his face to try and get the sleep out of himsounds kind of weird, maybe just "get the sleep away"?. He responded, doing his best to not move his jaw too harshlycomma yet remain loud and authoritative. It came out sounding like something between a cough and a groan.

Jayne's bare feet padded on the metal bars as he descended. The freshly bathed man, again half naked with a towel draped around his neck, turned and faced Mal. "Brought your shirt He said gruffly.

Mal, doing his best not to stare at the hairy bare fleshthis might just be me, but 'flesh' is a bit of a turnoff, might think about finding a different word but that's up to you, stepped forward and retrieved his shirt. He nodded and waved his hand in thanks, smiled but didn't speak.

"Doc fix your jaw?" Jayne asked, standing tall with his thumbs holding to the waist of his loose pants. Mal hazarded a quick look at the extra inch of exposed skin, hoping Jayne wouldn't notice. But when his eyes reconnected with the other mans, Jayne had the devilsdevil's smirk on his face.

"No," Mal quickly croaked in a feeble attempt to cover sudden tension. "He did, I mean. Just can't use it much." He turned and tossed the shirt into the small basket he kept in the corner for his dirty garments.

Jayne grunted. Mal kept his back on the other mancomma but heard the slow quiet padding of feet as they crossed the bunk to where he stood. Jayne was directly behind him now. "That's a He said.

Mal turned, his chin high and his shoulders back. "Yeah. Well, thank you ever so for bringing back my shirt. I appreciate the timely manner and such--"

"For a man who's not supposed to run his mouth ya sure can't shut up." Jayne chuckled; his eyes still dark and focused. "Still, while we're on the subject of shirtscomma I do imagine you owe me." He glanced down at Mal's torso, eyeingeying the undershirt heMal still wore. "I'm not all that into your fashion sense, butcomma" he stepped in closer and gripped the hem of Mal's shirt, "this might suit me."

Mal's heart began to race. Up until nowcomma any thoughts that might have popped into his mind about anything between he and Jayne, any sort of notion he got that the other man might have an eye for him, waswere easy to dismiss as pure luh-suh. But this was a little more difficult to refute.

Jayne was now dangerously close, keeping his head low but his eyes focused on Mal's. He softly shifted from one foot to the othercomma making Mal a bit dizzy. "I think," Jayne went on. "I deserve as much seeing how I saved your life and all."

Mal suddenly realized how rigid his body was, feeling as if he were backed up against a wallcomma even though he was standing in the middle of the room. If he couldn't say anything against this now, tell Jayne to back off, lie to the man; he wasn't sure what was going to happen next. Part of him didn't care, andbut? the other part of him was still captain of this ship and he was in need of some sense of control over this situation. Mal barked. But calloused hands were already burrowing under his shirt, rubbing his sides as they pulled it up and exposed tanned flesh. He said again, this time almost a beg for himJayne to stop.

Bristled lips were over Mal's, and as good as it felt at firstcomma the click in Mal's jaw reminded him of how bad an idea this was. He pulled away from the kiss, stumbling back and falling to the floor. "Stop!" He barked again. Jayne stood there, lust on his mind and written in his aura.

"Mal," Jayne's voice was calm, rational, and raspy. "You're a hun dan báichī if you think I can't figure you out." He squatted in front of Mal, offering a hand to help him up. "Just get over it."

Mal shook his head, confused and quickly becoming angry. He ignored Jayne's hand and started to get up under his own power, but Jayne shoved him against the bed, unbalancing him and layinglying him flat.

"You're not as slick as you think, Jayne said again, a touch of venom in his voice. "You make googoley eyes at everyone when you think we're not looking. But we all see it, we all talk about it." He shrugged. "None of us particularly mind. But your dumb ass goes and picks the one of us you know you can't have, the one who would never allow anything, and worst still you obsess over her like she'll suddenly changer her mind." Jayne was growing angry now. He loomed over Mal, his hands fisting and unfisting.

Jayne shifted his weight before going on. "You… We're in that cave, and I'm trying to ruttin' sleep but you kept making all those funny sounds." Jayne's eyes were distant, remembering. "Next thing I know you crawl your ass over to me and get all touchy feely. Not trying to grab me or anything" he said, motioning toward his crotchcomma "just tried to hold me. I figure 'what the hell, I'll give him that much.' So… so you're sleeping, rubbing my chest, and the moment I go and grab your hand you tense up and turn over."

Jayne looked down at Mal, the anger returning to his eyes. "What the ruttin' hell am I supposed to make of all that?"

The whole situation had long since put Mal into unease. He pushed himself off the bed and stood straight. He eyed Jayne dead on, daring him to make a move. Mal's heart pounded in his chest as both men stood, neither daring to retreat.


End file.
